(The show itself is in its third season, but it's new to Amazon, which bought it last year from Condé Nast Entertainment, run by WIRED's parent company Condé Nast.)

Unlike Amazon's other originals, The Fashion Fund isn't hidden behind the subscription wall of Amazon Prime. Instead, it's available for free for everyone, but with a catch: it's broken up by ads.

"We’re always experimenting on behalf of our customers, including experimenting with ads," an Amazon spokeswoman says. "For this Fashion Fund project, we found it to be a very effective way to fund its production. The show has strong interest from advertisers."

Throughout the show's 90-second breaks, we spotted ads for skincare product Proactiv, Philips' electric shaver and toothbrush, and designer Lily Pulitzer. For some, you can click "learn more," posted in the corner of the screen while the ad is playing, to go directly to the brand's website or Amazon shopping page. Amazon does offer some other shows and series premieres free with ads, but this is the company's first ad-supported original series.

It's no surprise that The Fashion Fund would attract advertisers. The show follows ten "up-and-coming designers" who compete to win $400,000 from the Fashion Fund, co-sponsored by Condé Nast's Vogue and the Council of Fashion Designers.

The Fund itself is no mere novelty: it has helped discover emerging designers like Alexander Wang and Rodarte. Much like other reality show competitions, the competitors are judged each week by "fashion's elite," including Condé Nast Artistic Director and Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, as well as famed designer Diane Von Furstenberg. The show originally aired on Hulu in 2011 before moving to Ovation TV. Its third season is exclusively on Amazon.

As Amazon competes with Netflix, Hulu, and others in the online TV scene, it may be a telling move for the online retailer to experiment with ads. Netflix, for one, has maintained that viewers don't want to see ads—its ad-free service, it says, is part of its success. Hulu, on the other hand, already serves up ads. But, notably, the vast majority of its shows aired first on TV with, well, ads.

For Amazon, a free original show with ads could be a way to get non-Prime subscribers to realize that Amazon Prime does include original shows alongside its unlimited two-day shipping. If customers like it, they may sign up to see other shows like Transparent or Man in the High Castle. It could also be a test for Amazon to see if it's worth developing shows for an ad-based model. For now, Amazon only says that Prime Video will remain ad-free.